hello. you're watching "newsline." i'm shery ahn. a white house official says the obama administration is handling an attack at the boston marathon as an act of terror. two bombs went off just before the finish line. at least three people were killed. one of them was an 8-year-old boy. more than 100 others were wounded. the first bomb knocked back runners 30 meters from the finish. then another explosion hit people a short distance away. emergency services rushed to the scene. there was no word on the motive or on who may have been responsible. investigators are working to find out whether the attack was carried out by a terrorist group from inside or outside the country. the explosions have revived memories of the september 11th terror attacks. authorities have tightened security in cities around the country, and they may review measures to keep americans safe.

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nhk world's reporter has more. >> reporter: this was the 117th running of the boston marathon. the world's oldest annual sporting event. more than 23,000 runners took part. several recounted the horror. >> i literally saw the garbage garl explode. i saw the flash, the fire and smoke and ran as fast as i could. >> it's unbelievable this would happen at an event like this, you know. >> reporter: public officials responded quickly to tighten security. the federal aviation administration implemented a no-fly zone over portions of boston. new york city police deployed police and strengthened protection around manhattan landmarks including major hotels.

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law enforcement officials in washington have increased security throughout the capital. they have barred pedestrians from pennsylvania avenue, the street that runs in front of the white house. u.s. president barack obama ordered an immediate investigation. >> earlier today i was briefed by my homeland security. we will find out who did this. we'll find out why they did this. any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice. >> reporter: after 9/11, the government set up the department of homeland security. officials there gather and analyze information in an effort to ward off further attacks. in 2009, security agents found that a man about to board an airplane was hiding a bomb in his clothes. in 2010, investigators found explosives in a car in new york's times square.

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recently they have been monitoring individuals who engage in political and social protests. they warn that home-grown terrorists might be plotting an attack. they are already sorting through clues to find out who might be behind this one. nhk world, tokyo. the bombings in boston have raised fears as far away as london. authorities in the former olympic host city are reviewing security for a marathon to be held there this weekend. more than 20 people aboard a u.s. military helicopter survived a crash in south korea following a training mission. the transport aircraft went down and then caught fire near the demilitarized zone that divides north and south korea. the crash happened in the northern part of the country. all 21 people on board made it out alive. six of them were lightly wounded and had to be treated in hospital.

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u.s. military representatives say it was likely an accident. they're working with south korean authorities to try to determine exactly what happened. the helicopter was based in okinawa, japan. now, the crash occurred amid heightened tension on the korean peninsula. north korean military leaders have issued a new warning to their neighbors. they're threatening to attack south korea in response to what they describe as provocative acts. military commanders were reacting to a rally on monday in seoul. protesters burned photos of north korean leader kim jong-un. they dmanemanded his regime hal all belligerent actions. officials in pyongyang demanded the south korean leaders apologize to show they sincerely want to engage in dialogue. they threaten to launch retaliatory reaction without notice. japan's foreign minister says the north's statement is

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very regrettable. he says his government will continue to call on the north to exercise restraint. >> translator: japan will not be swayed by north korea's latest provocative rhetoric. it is important to send a strong message to pyongyang that aggressive words and actions will not work. >> he said the japanese government is taking all necessary steps to prepare for the unexpected. let's now get a check of how markets did in the asian pacific region. training was volatile this tuesday. many markets started the day in negative territory but recouped earlier losses to end pretty much mixed. let's get a check of how the region's markets did today. many of them followed losses in the u.s. and europe. sharply falling commodity prices

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also hurt investor sentiment. the nikkei index closed down 0.4% at 13,221. but the tokyo's benchmark index trimmed earlier losses due to the yen's renewed weakness. meanwhile, south korean shares rebounded from two days of declines. the kospi ended up almost 0.1% at 1,922. the government's announcement of additional spending cheered the market. and in mainland china, the shanghai composite rose 0.6% to close at 2,194. that's after falling for three straight sessions. shares gained ground on speculation about possible deregulation. and gold briefly tumbled over 10% from last weekend in new york, hitting a 26-month low. it fell to $1,338 per ounce on

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monday. the lowest level since february 2011. investors sold the precious metal after the pace of china's gdp growth slowed in the first quarter of this year leading to concerns that demand for gold in the country would decline. gold is typically bought as a safe haven. expectations of a recovery in the global economy have prompted investors to buy riskier assets such as stocks. the latest chinese economic data has triggered further selling of gold. japanese finance minister aso says he will seek the understanding of his group of 20 counterparts and central bank chiefs for the country's economic policy. leaders of the g-20 industrialized and developing nations are getting together in washington later this week. japan's economic policy may be a subject of discussion. u.s. treasury officials last week called on japan not to deliberately devalue its currency.

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>> translator: japan's measures including those of the bank of japan are aimed at ending prolonged deflation. i will, again, clarify this at the g-20 meeting. so there is no misunderstanding about how true policy objectives. japanese entrepreneurs have had the chance to hear how to be successful from some of the best in the i.t. business. global tech leaders have urged them to expand their businesses with an open mind. executives of japanese i.t. firms organized an event under the them innovation in tokyo on tuesday. their aim is to foster venture businesses in the country the group invited leading i.t. professionals from abroad who have started their own companies or managed start-ups. a co-founder of smartphone operating system android shared a story andy rubin said the

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software was originally designed for digital cameras, but a sluggish camera market forced the firm to switch plans and target smartphones instead. >> you have to be flexible in your business, and you have to understand, if your plan isn't going to work, you have to change. so you have to be able to make decisions very quickly, and you have to be able to be willing to change direction instantly to avoid being blocked >> meanwhile, twitter co-founder jack dorsey suggested that entrepreneurs start businesses as a means to let the world know what they find interesting. he urged them to be confident and perseverant. >> translator: as an entrepreneur, i realize that the word "agility" is important. speed and developing quickly globally is very crucial. financial criminals in japan will now face tougher punishments. government officials have drafted new penalties following

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a series of white-collar crimes including insider trading. members of prime minister shinzo abe's cabinet approved the bills to revise financial laws. people who leak nonpublic information about stock offerings will face up to five years in prison. under the current law, they are not punished. investment fund managers who lie to persuade clients to sign contracts risk a heftier jail term. they'll now face up to five years behind bars as opposed to the current three. the upgraded sentence comes in the wake of a major scandal involving an investment advisory firm. the president of aij investment advisors last year admitted he led the company to losses of over $1 billion of corporate pension funds. some of the world's top competitors have their eyes on brazil. the best footballers on earth will challenge for the world cup in 2014. and two years later, athletes of

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all sorts will fight for medals at the olympics. now, another competition is under way at this time among managers looking for cheap labor. nhk world has more on that. >> reporter: brazil's major cities are experiencing a construction boom. wages are sing, and businesses are having trouble finding enough workers. this is posing a challenge for japanese firms as they try to gain a foothold on brazil. they are now turning their eyes to smaller cities instead of metropolitan areas. this northeastern port town is home to an industrial complex. many foreign companies are planning to set up shop here. as brazil enjoys robust economic growth, local areas have become as attractive to businesses as big cities. the northeastern region is often

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dubbed as brazil's china. that's because of its rapid development and relatively low wages. to help find opportunities there, the japan external trade organization organized an inspection tour in march. signe see the place with my own eyes. >> reporter: the group's main focus was the huge industrial park under construction by the state government. about 100 firms are already doing business in this area. state officials are hoping to bring in some 1,000 companies eventually. >> translator: i'm surprised at brazil's economic power. this country has built such a huge complex in the countryside. >> reporter: but even in a rural area like this, companies are already competing to secure sufficient labor force. this firm from norway is providing free training for over

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200 young local people. it's planning to open a factory in six months. the company even pays for transportation and food. managers are doing all they can to get the trainees to join the firm. >> translator: the company is giving us a chance to get traintrain ed. since i have this opportunity, i'd like to work here. >> translator: we can offer high wages as well as a variety of perks. we want to create the kind of business environment that will make people want to work here. >> reporter: despite the competition, many of the visitors from japan became interested in coming to brazil. >> translator: the more i learn, the harder it seems to do business here. but i think brazil has huge potential as a market. >> reporter: the competition for labor is starting to spread into

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more and more rural areas in brazil. but that's unlikely to discourage japanese companies from investing in this rapidly expanding economy. nhk world. let's now get another check of the market figures. crews at the damaged fukushima daiichi nuclear plant in japan have started work on a

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project to stop highly contaminated water from escaping into the environment. tokyo electric power company workers discovered three of seven underground storage pools are leaking. tepco officials believe pools one and two may be leaking the most. so they're placing priority on draining them. on tuesday, workers started transferring about 20 tons of water per hour from pool two to an above ground tank more than 400 meters away. officials say the pipes used in this process will be long. they plan to step up monitoring to ensure no water escapes during transfer. they estimate they'll be able to move more than 23,000 tons of contaminated water by early june. but the underground pools will continue to leak during the operation. crews will pump any contaminated water they collect back into the pool to minimize damage to the environment. tepco officials say the volume of contaminated water at fukushima daiichi is increasing

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by about 400 tons per day. they will no longer use the underground storage pools and plan to install more above-ground tanks. they're working on finding a way to decontaminate the water. a "new york times" reporter in china has won journalism's highest honor. david barbosa was awarded the pulitzer prize for exposing the hidden wealth of the family of china's former premier. new york's columbia university announced the winners of the award on monday. the pulitzer also covers literature, drama and music. barbosa reported that relatives of then premier wen jiabao had secretly amassed billions of dollars. the judges praise his exposure of corruption. they noted it published its work despite heavy pressure from chinese officials. wen's family denied the report and the chinese government also criticized it. "the new york times" also won a pulitzer for reporting on the practices of apple and other technology companies.

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judges praised "the times" for exposing excessive working hours and other harsh conditions at contract manufacturers in china and elsewhere. millions of rural chinese migrate to cities every year in search of work. for many, this means more than simply leaving home. it means leaving their children. more than 60 million children are now being raised by relatives who are not their parents. the problem lies in the country's household registry system. the government runs separate status for rural and urban families. migration is tightly restricted to prevent the population from being concentrated in cities. only people who live in areas in which they're registered receive public services like education. so when rural chinese migrate to cities, it's difficult to take their children with them.

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some people criticize the system. they say breaking off families isn't good for kids or for the nation. nhk world's reporter reports. >> reporter: in rural province, many workers have moved to cities leaving more than 3 million children behind. at this elementary school, there are 160 of those children, a quarter of all the students. this girl is in the third grade. both her parents are migrant workers. with her parents so far away, she also seems worried. she lives with her grandmother who is poor and almost illiterate. sometimes one of her teachers comes to visit her at home. she's the only person she can trust.

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>> translator: i really need her. >> reporter: the parents are also worried about their children. some schools are taking steps to help bridge the gap. at this school, the parents of half of the students are migrant workers. one classroom has been set aside for the children to play games and read, to ease their loneliness. it also has an online hookup so children can talk with their parents.

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>> reporter: talking face to face with their parents is intended to ease the children's anxiety. >> mama. >> reporter: this girl is a fourth grader. her parents have been working in shanghai for the past six years. they only come back once a year. >> translator: i want to be with my mother all the time. >> reporter: her parents work in shanghai, selling home accessories. they wanted to bring their daughter to live with them in shanghai. but children from rural areas are rarely allowed to join schools in big cities.

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>> translator: i asked schools in shanghai, but they refused. migrant workers like us are the people who are behind shanghai's growth. we're paying a high price. >> reporter: for her parents, working in shanghai is the only way they can earn enough money to support their family. it comes at a cost. living far from their daughter. >> translator: when i see other children, i feel sad. they remind me of my daughter. i'm sorry i can't take care of her. >> reporter: the disparity between the cities and the rural areas of china is continuing to grow. it's not just the wealth gap. it's a literal gap between

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migrant workers and the children they leave behind at home. nhk world, shanghai. government officials are underlining their efforts to make rural areas more affluent, but they've made little progress in implementing countermeasures. the number of children left behind is expected to rise. let's now bring in rachel ferguson for a check of the weather. rachel, we have gorgeous weather here in tokyo, but i understand there's a cold spell heading to north china. what can you tell us? >> yes, you're absolutely correct. it is going to be getting kre chilly across the korean peninsula and northern china, but let's start in japan. some showers moving towards the north. there's a low here just in the sea of japan developing. it's going to be bringing mostly rain across hokkaido, but you will see a few snowflakes up in the mountains. to the south there's another system. this one bringing rain across the southeastern islands of japan. could even see about 17, 18

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millimeters of rain. wednesday should be clear and the rest of the country is looking sunny and dry. now, down towards the south, i want to talk about the rain first. more rain across the south and southeast of china. and you've been having really a bad time of it actually the last couple of weeks. so an early start to the rainy season and intense rains here. this widespread precipitation which is amounting to about 20 to 50 millimeters widely is falling on already saturated land. so the ongoing rain is a problem, but also in some areas, it is going to be up to about 100 millimeters, so there is potential for flooding. i want to talk about the temperatures you mentioned, shery. a cold blast of air coming down from the north. that's going to drop things by a little bit, down to 15 degrees in beijing. not getting too, too bad in northern china. seoul is looking at 20 on wednesday which is comfortable. but by thursday you'll also be seeing about 15 degrees. the real chill is going to be found further up towards the north. falling to minus one, and that's

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for the high here in the middle of april. on we go into the americas. we'll start in the east. we've been tracking a winter storm system moving through eastern canada. it is going to be bringing snow, but ahead of the front, it will be mostly rain because actually we have a lot of warm air coming right up ahead of this cold front. along the cold front we will be finding thunderstorms. and some of these will be a little bit on the severe side. heading up into the northeast and then it should be passed by wednesday. that system will be moving out. but there is another storm developing behind it. this is it. a low moving across the northern -- through the rockies, i should say, the four corners here. this one's going to be developing and bringing some pretty heavy snow. 30 centimeters up in the mountains. lower-lying areas about 15 centimeters. and to the south on tuesday night is when you're going to be finding some very severe storms. so brace for that. we'll be keeping you updated a little bit later on in the day. now, temperaturewise, you can

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see where the divide is. six degrees in denver. 12 in chicago. cooling down here as well. minus two in winnipeg. but then ahead of that cold front looking very warm indeed. d.c., 23 degrees for you. 19 in new york city. and we have 30 in mexico city as well as in miami. all right. on into europe. nothing much has changed here. we're still seeing a picture very much like it was yesterday. wet and windy across the british isles and scandinavia. we've had reports of gusts up to 90 kilometers an hour in the british isles. you see the heavy rain in the northwest as well. about 50 millimeters which is enough to cause flooding here. and then scandinavia is also going to be dealing with similar conditions. but many of you will have the warmth and the dry. a few showers moving through central locations. but nothing too heavy. out towards the southeast is where we find the heavy rain and the potential for thunderstorms. but that should be clearing up for you by wednesday. temperatures looking really good across much of the continent. i'm going to leave you now with your extended forecast.

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and that's all for this hour. i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching.

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tavis: good evening. smiley. tonight, a conversation with senator bernie sanders. the bombingrmath of of th in boston and the budget. and then a talk with chris columbus. a conversation